INDIANAPOLIS – USA Track & Field has designated 20 community-based meets around the country as USATF Future Stars Elite Meets, awarding the meets cash stipends and a host of other benefits.
 
Meets began applying for USATF Future Stars Meets support in February. Ranging in size from 100 to 800 athletes, the 20 selected 2015 USATF Future Stars Elite Meets span 15 states from coast to coast. In addition to USATF grant monies, the meets will receive USATF sanctioning and insurance, branding templates for awards and signage, and Turbo Jav equipment, all free of charge. As an athlete benefit, two boys and two girls from around the country who win their events at a USATF Future Stars Elite Meet will be randomly selected to receive a free trip to compete at the USATF Hershey Youth Outdoor Championships, which in 2015 will be contested June 30-July 5 in Lisle, Illinois.
 
USATF Associations in which USATF Future Stars Elite Meets are held also will receive cash stipends to aid in both supporting the meets and growing USATF clubs and membership.
 
“These community-based meets, often run by parks & recreation departments, are where many kids get their first taste of track and field,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “We are very pleased to be able to provide meaningful support to these important programs, and to help facilitate the growth of our USATF Associations and clubs. We look forward to expanding Future Stars Meets, this year and in the future.
                 
Each Future Stars Elite Meet will designate meets in their areas as USATF Future Stars Grass Roots Meets, creating a network of hundreds of meets around the country. All USATF Future Stars Grass Roots Meets will receive USATF sanctioning and insurance, branding templates for awards and signage, and Turbo Jav equipment at no cost.
 
USATF Future Stars Meets are open to boys and girls ages 7-14, competing in two-year age groups. Contested events are the standing broad jump, Turbo Jav and 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters for ages 7-8. Participants ages 9-14 also will compete in the 1,500m run and 1,500m race walk. The meets do not require USATF membership to participate and are free and open to the public.
 
Click here for more information on USATF Future Stars Meets.